updated 02:05 pm EDT, Fri July 20, 2007

Nokia Leads Cellphone Biz

Nokia has only managed to extend its dominance of the world cellphone industry in recent months based on a keenly sharpened business model, according to BusinessWeek. The Finnish handset maker's latest statistics have international marketshare growing to 37 percent, or more than a third of all handsets sold worldwide -- a figure that could grow as high as 40 percent before 2008, Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi adds. Nokia's success now has it overtaking Samsung while Motorola slips to third place amid continuing financial losses and the wait for improved devices such as the RAZR2.

Instrumental to Nokia's position is the sheer variety of phones that let the company access any market it wants, the business publication writes. While Nokia frequently pushes high-end 3G and GPS-equipped smartphones such as the N95, which once cost as much as $750, the company also sells extremely low-cost devices (such as the 1200 series) that appeal to those in the developing world who may never have tried a cellphone before.

Motorola, in contrast, has often dwelt on very specific models like the original RAZR and sometimes fails entirely in converting success from one phone to another. The relatively poor showing of the MOTOFONE is a prime example, says author Jack Ewing. Nokia's deliberately very broad range of phones guarantees that a slump in any one field will not significantly dent another, he adds.

And while Apple's iPhone may do well, Nokia's sheer size and comparatively risk-proof strategy may help it ward off the threat, adds Ovum market researcher Martin Garner.

"Maybe the iPhone will be very successful," he says. "Does that knock Nokia off its perch? I don't think so."